immigration

On Panorama recently, senior judges warned that cuts to legal aid have undermined the principle of equal access to the law. There are other worrying signs that cuts, increased fees and outsourcing are undermining the values essential to any decent system of justice. As we approach the anniversary of Magna Carta, are the principles it represents being abandoned?

Migration is a major pastoral issue for civic groups and churches. New communities enliven church life and community activity. They also encounter the challenges posed by often harsh immigration restrictions, scapegoating and economic uncertainty.

In the worldwide Catholic Church, the World Day of Migrants and Refugees is celebrated in January each year, having been instituted in 1914 by Pope Pius X. In 2015 it falls on 18 January, which is also the Church's World Peace Day (and for many the first Day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity).